China Ferrous Market Weekly Wrap Up - March 12, 2024
Mysteel Global
Latest updates on steel&iron ore, coke&coal, base metals, battery materials, energy&chemicals, decarbonization path.
DCE iron ore free falls, with more downside looming
China's derivative market saw iron ore prices undergo steep declines on March 11 at the start of the new week, after the country's top political meeting ended in Beijing without new economic stimulus measures being announced and while blast furnace stoppages are fuelling concerns regarding near-term iron ore demand.
On Monday, the most-traded iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange?for May delivery tumbled by 5.4% from last Friday's settlement price to close the daytime session at Yuan 831/dmt ($115.6/dmt), a new low since late October 2023.
WEEKLY: China's imported coking coal prices edge lower
Prices of imported coking coal in China for both seaborne cargoes and Mongolian coal delivered overland edged lower during the week of March 4-8, Mysteel's tracking showed. Market sources cited steel mills' sluggish demand for the further drop in prices during the survey week.
By March 8 for example, the price of Russian K4 coking coal had decreased by Yuan 30/tonne ($4.3/t) on week to Yuan 2,120/t, while during the same survey period, that of Russian Inagli fat coal had also declined by another Yuan 10/t to Yuan 1,720/t, both on ex-warehouse basis at North China's Jingtang port and including the 13% VAT, according to Mysteel's database.
WEEKLY: China coke plants' output stays low despite small rise
China's coke production stayed at a low level this week although a mild recovery was seen, impacted mainly by the lingering low production zest among coke plants given the deep losses they were suffering after four rounds of price cuts totalling Yuan 400-440/tonne ($55.6-61.2/t) since January this year, Mysteel has found.
For example, the average coke output at 230 Chinese independent coke plants under Mysteel's survey stood at 497,000 tonne/day over February 29-March 6, still lower by a substantial 11.3% compared with the year-ago level and marking the second lowest level in over 18 months.
WEEKLY: Falling prices drive China steel scrap sales
Chinese steel scrap prices slid further last week under pressure from steelmakers eager to cut their purchase prices for raw materials to improve their margins, according to Mysteel's latest survey.
As of March 8, Mysteel's national steel scrap price index stood at Yuan 2,989.8/tonne ($421.8/t) including the 13% VAT, lower by Yuan 41.2/t or 1.4% on week.
WEEKLY SUMMARY: China's major steel prices lose ground
领英推荐
China's prices of major steel products continued with the downtrend over March 4-8, mainly blamed on the lackluster demand from end-users and further accumulation in steel inventories, Mysteel Global learned.
WEEKLY: China's rebar output rises by another 4.8%
Rebar production among the 137 Chinese steelmakers that Mysteel tracks grew for the second week over February 29-March 6, rising by 4.8% or 101,700 tonnes on week to reach a one-month high of 2.2 million tonnes, the weekly survey results showed. Some mini-mills had fully resumed operations after Chinese New Year and a few blast furnaces had also been gradually brought back on stream during the week, respondents said.
Nonetheless, rebar output during the survey period was lower by a large 428,900 tonnes or 16.3% from the same week last year, Mysteel's data showed.
WEEKLY: China's HRC output rebounds by 3.5% on week
Production of hot-rolled coils (HRC) among the 37 Chinese flat steel producers Mysteel regularly monitors rebounded during the week of March 4-8 from the decline of the previous two weeks to total 3.11 million tonnes, the results of the latest weekly production survey show. This represented a gain of some 105,900 tonnes or 3.5% on week.
Accordingly, the hot-rolling capacity utilization rate among the 37 mills also moved higher?by?2.7?percentage points?on week to average?79.42% last week,?the survey found.
WEEKLY: Tangshan billet prices ease, demand growth slows
Billet prices in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province declined over March 4-10, mainly impacted by the tepid finished steel market and the constrained rise in billet demand, according to Mysteel's weekly survey.
As of March 10, the price of Q235 150mm square billet in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,440/tonne ($478.8/t) EXW and including the 13% VAT, down by Yuan 80/t or 2.3% from March 3.
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